Nearly 50,000 people urge Government to fix heart care crisis

A man whose heart surgery was cancelled five times joined campaigners at Downing Street yesterday (4 December) to urge the Government to address the “worst heart care crisis in living memory”.

Plumbing and heating engineer James Wilkinson, 50, from Halifax, was diagnosed with a heart infection at the end of 2019 that left him unable to work and in urgent need of a heart valve repair.

But when the pandemic hit a few months later, he said his life was put on hold when his surgery was repeatedly cancelled. After months of waiting, he eventually decided to have the operation privately.

Four years on, he says it is “utterly shocking” that so many people with cardiovascular conditions are still facing excessive waits for time-sensitive tests, procedures and operations due to increased demand and NHS workforce shortages, among other factors.

Latest figures show that the heart care waiting list in England was at 421,324 in September – a near record high.

James is among nearly 50,000 people who have signed our pledge calling on Government to make tackling cardiovascular disease a priority, part of our Hearts Need More campaign. 

He was at Downing Street today to hand in the pledge, joining campaigners such as Labour MP Danny Beales, Liberal Democrat MP Helen Morgan, and our ambassadors David and Frankie Seaman. David, a former England and Arsenal goalkeeper, has the irregular heart rhythm condition atrial fibrillation. 

James Wilkinson, a father-of-two, said: “I know what it’s like to sit at home full of anxiety, not knowing when your operation will be, while your health just gets worse and worse. It’s a lot to bear. I can’t believe so many people are still going through what I went through. Something needs to change.”

Our ambassadors David and Frankie Seaman said: “Heart and circulatory diseases affect so many families like ours and it worries us how bad things are for people with these conditions. We need to hear that the Government is taking this heart crisis seriously.”

Latest NHS England figures show that more than 172,000 people on the heart care waiting list were waiting longer than the 18-week treatment target – enough to fill nearly 2,000 double-decker buses. This is over five times the number waiting that long in February 2020. 

Long waits for heart care are dangerous. The longer someone waits, the higher the risk of an avoidable heart attack, disability due to heart failure, or even premature death.

Alongside the Government’s Ten Year Health Plan, a dedicated Heart Disease Action Plan is needed to address treatment delays, prevent more cases of cardiovascular disease in the first place, and ensure there is enough investment in crucial research. This could help to save countless lives.

Dr Charmaine Griffiths, our Chief Executive, said: “Today we are sending a powerful message to Government. We need a plan to fix the worst heart care crisis in living memory - heart patients and their loved ones can’t wait any longer. 

“The scale of the problem is staggering. The number of people waiting far too long for lifesaving tests, treatments and surgery is at a near-record high, putting them at huge risk. This crisis in care is costing lives.

“We won’t stand by and accept this as the way things are. We urgently need a dedicated Heart Disease Action Plan, to stop more and more families losing loved ones far too soon.”